Very interesting thread. When I was looking for a boat I saw a First 40' here in Fajardo PR that had badly corroded keel bolt nuts. They would crumble just by touching them. I contacted Beneteau and they told me that the studs were stainless steel and the nuts were galvanized. That made sense since the studs looked perfect. It was just the nuts falling apart. You can replace them one at a time.

In my First 456, the keel was removed by "accident" after hurricane Hugo. Theese boats had a reputation of weak keel to hull joint structure. So the previous owner had the lower hull structure reinforced from the inside of course and the keel was reinstalled and attached to the boat with new 316SS bolts and nuts. As an extra meassure he ordered custom 316 stainless steel 5/8 inch thick angles to provide extra support from the inside. The bolts go through the SS angles which are also attached to the inner structural elements of the hull. From an engineering point of view it is overkill but it is very nice to open the bilge and see such a strong structure holding the keel.

Yes, its probably the one I bought, they had it advertise as a First 40 but its actually a First 38, (lOA 40), They will replaced the nuts soon, as you well know here in Puerto Rico, finding someone do contract the work is easy, actually getting it done its different I guess thats everywhere.

No, I think the one I am referring to is still for sale in Sea Lovers. It is a common problem in those boats. Where do yo keep your boat?. For the moment I am in Sea Lovers (last sailboat on the left side, one with teak decks) until the dredging is finished in Palmas del Mar, then I will go back to Palmas. It is closer to me, that way I can finish all the little things on my list.SaludosAnthony

ahhh ok, no mine was in Puerto Del Rey, I kept it there for now, its nice, But I like Palmas! how are they in price there now? Marina Puerto del Rey is far for me (San Juan) but its noce and fun there, also my father has his boat there.

The best thing about Palmas is Hurricanesecurity. In terms of price if you try the marina it is about the same price as P.Del Rey but I have a slip rented from a private lot owner. Actually I've always liked Sea Lovers. Its very quiet and convenient. Now they have better security with a guard all night. Do you have any trips planned?

Replacing only the nuts is an iffy deal without removing the entire bolt for examination. Quite often the bolt/stud is badly wasted and looks like an hourglass at the keel to hull joint but looks perfect everwhere else. No matter how well it's caulked, moisture often finds a way into the joint and electryloysis happens. This is common, not unusual. I've seen 25yr old bolts that were wasted 50% but the exposed parts perfect and seen 35 yrs old bolts that were 100% perfect.